In The News

How to Deal With NGOs – Part II, Russia

Liliana N. Proskuryakova August 3, 2006
President Vladimir Putin recognizes that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are useful tools for shaping global and national policy – and also for criticizing other world leaders. The second article in this two-part series examines Putin’s two-pronged approach in handling NGOs, a strategy on display during the recent G-8 summit in St. Petersburg: While keeping many Russian-based NGOs and...

Japan Makes More Cars Elsewhere

Martin Fackler August 2, 2006
A report released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association shows that for the first time Japanese car companies manufactured more cars abroad than in Japan during the last fiscal year. The shift to local manufacturing has been a natural result of globalization of the industry, allowing the companies to shield profits from currency changes, reduce shipping costs and appeal to local...

Letter from Britain: Lack of African Dream Lets a Nightmare Prevail

Alan Cowell August 2, 2006
At the 2005 G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, leaders from the world’s most industrialized nations promised increased aid for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, while African leaders pledged to clean up corruption in government – kicking off the “Make Poverty History” campaign with high hopes. A year later, donor nations have not followed through on their promises, and some charge that...

Migration Laws May Be the End of Globalization

Branko Milanovic August 1, 2006
The first worldwide era of economic globalization ended with the carnage and insecurity of two World Wars separated by a Depression, according to author Branko Milanovic. The end of the current era, he writes, will not necessarily come from global catastrophe, but rather with “an economic retrenchment that brings economic stagnation and consigns billions of people to grinding poverty.”...

As an Immigration Tide Swells, Europe Treads Water

Lawrence Downes August 1, 2006
Spain has the most nuanced laws in Europe regarding immigrants and refugees. Still, illegal immigration remains a contentious issue in the country that has received more than 11,000 immigrants from Africa this year. At a recent conference in Morocco, attended by delegates from European and African governments, representatives pledged to move towards a fair resolution of the problem, and the...

How to Deal With NGOs – Part I, China

Paul Mooney August 1, 2006
Both China and Russia sat up and took notice of the role played by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the political unrest and subsequent color revolutions in Georgia, the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. This two-part series examines the two governments’ responses to NGO activity within their borders. China dispatched intelligence officers to research the NGO role in Central Asia and also conduct...

Managing Globalization: Why Trade Talks Do Little for the Poorer Countries

Daniel Altman July 31, 2006
With failure of the Doha Round talks, many ask whether free trade really benefits developing countries. Two studies suggest no, though each differ on the root cause of such a global dilemma, according to “International Herald Tribune” columnist Daniel Altman, and that reveals the complexities of trade. Sandra Polaski of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argues that lowering tariffs...